For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 19, 2003

National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2003
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

The sacrifice and service of America's veterans, including those
who became prisoners of war or who went missing in action, have
preserved freedom for America and brought freedom to millions around
the world. On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we honor the
extraordinary courage of the Americans who have been prisoners of war,
and we pray for those who are still missing in action and unaccounted
for. This Nation also remembers the challenges and heartache endured
by the families of prisoners of war and missing in action. We seek
answers for the families of those who are still missing, and we will
not rest until we have a full accounting.

To mark this important day, on September 19, 2003, the flag of the
National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in
Southeast Asia will again be flown over the White House, the Capitol,
the Departments of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, the Selective
Service System Headquarters, the National Vietnam Veterans and Korean
War Veterans Memorials, U.S. military installations, national
cemeteries, and other locations across our country. We raise this flag
as a reminder and a promise. The black-and-white flag is a symbol that
these missing Americans will not be forgotten, and is flown as a
testament to our Government's unwavering commitment to pursue the
fullest possible accounting for all our missing in action service
members.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution
and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 19, 2003,
as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. I call upon the people of the
United States to join me in saluting all American POWs who valiantly
served this great country. I call upon Federal, State, and local
government officials and private organizations to observe this day with
appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand
three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-eighth.